David Ellison's Paramount Skydance submitted a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery before WBD's self-imposed deadline. Comcast and Netflix also placed bids for WBD's streaming and studios assets. Spokespeople for Paramount, WBD, Comcast, and Netflix declined or did not respond to comment requests. A combined Paramount-WBD would be the largest media tie-up since Disney's acquisition of Fox's TV and movie studio in 2019. Legal experts say Ellison's rapport with President Donald Trump could ease antitrust scrutiny under the current administration. Ellison attended a White House dinner for Mohammed bin Salman and appointed Bari Weiss to lead CBS News despite saying he does not want to politicize the company.
"A Paramount-WBD deal would be the largest media tie-up since Disney bought Fox's TV and movie studio in 2019. While mega-mergers of that magnitude are rare, legal experts say that Ellison's apparent rapport with Trump may help Paramount get around antitrust concerns."
""If we were talking about this a year ago, there's no way," said Corey Martin, an entertainment lawyer at Granderson Des Rochers in Los Angeles. "But we're not under a Biden administration.""
"Trump said in June that the then-incoming Paramount CEO was "great" and would "do a great job" at the media company. More recently, Ellison was invited to a White House dinner for Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday night. Ellison's father, the billionaire Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, has been a closer supporter of Trump for years."
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